What is the EU, why was it created and when was it formed? What is the EU, why was it created and when was it formed? Watch | EU Referendum: what is the European Union and how does it work? 02:26 EU Referendum Logo A referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union will take place on Thursday, June 23. Here is a handy guide to everything you need to know about the EU ahead of the vote . Why was the EU created? After the Second World War there was a new movement to create unity between Germany and France, which would ultimately lay the foundations for the European Union four decades later. When was the EU formed? The EU can trace its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed in 1951 and 1958 respectively by the Inner Six countries of Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. French foreign minister Robert Schuman led the formation of the ECSC with the Schuman Declaration in May 1950. The organisation was a forerunner of several other European Communities and what is now the European Union.

The chamber of the European Parliament in Strasbourg Credit: Getty Images The European Union was established under its current name in 1993 following the Maastricht Treaty. Since then the community has grown in size because of the accession of new member states. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009. Previous EU referendum results since 1972 Which countries are in the EU? The European Union is an economic and political union of 28 countries. Each of the countries within the Union are independent but they agree to trade under the agreements made between the nations. Twenty two of the member states also belong to the Schengen Area, which is comprised of 26 European countries that have abolished passport and border controls at their common borders. Of the countries that are not part of it, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania all intend to join, while the United Kingdom and Ireland have opted out. Watch | What are the alternatives if Britain leaves the EU?

01:42 The 28 countries within the European Union include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The European Economic Area (EEA) includes EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. It allows them to be part of the EU’s single market. Switzerland is neither an EU or EEA member but is part of the single market - this means Swiss nationals have the same rights to live and work in the UK as other EEA nationals. What is the purpose of the EU? The European Union operates a single market which allows free movement of goods, capital, services and people between member states. Does the EU have an anthem? Yes, the European anthem comes from the Ninth Symphony composed in 1823 by Ludwig Van Beethoven, when he set music to the Ode to Joy, Friedrich von Schiller's lyrical verse from 1785.

According to the EU website, the anthem "symbolises not only the European Union but also Europe in a wider sense" because the poem Ode to Joy expresses Schiller's idealistic vision of the human race becoming brothers. The anthem was adopted by the Council of Europe in 1972 and in 1985 it was adopted by EU leaders as the official anthem of the European Union. The anthem has no words – instead relying on the universal language of music. How many people live in the European Union? As of January 2014 the population of the EU was about 507.4 million people. Watch | Is it like an elephant or a millipede? Europeans come up with impressive metaphors for the EU 01:18 How big is the European Union's economy? The economy of the EU generates a GDP (nominal) of around €14.303 trillion according to the International Monetary Fund. It has been argued that this makes it the largest economy in the world if treated as the economy of a single country. When is Europe Day?

Europe Day is celebrated on May 9 because the ideas behind the European Union were first put forward on that date in 1950 by French foreign minister Robert Schuman. News latest 20 Jan 2017, 12:01am 19 Jan 2017, 11:40pm Live European Union - Metapedia European Union Jump to: navigation , search The European Union (EU) is a politico-economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe . It operates through a hybrid system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area (not all EU countries), passport controls have been abolished. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. Laws and policies are increasingly standardized also on other areas. The monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002. Many EU countries use the euro as their legal tender.

The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by the Inner Six countries in 1951 and 1958, respectively. In the intervening years, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009. The EU has gradually increased the number of member countries but in 2016 a referendum in the United Kingdom resulted in an overall vote to leave the EU ( Brexit ). Criticisms The EU has been supported by various supporters of globalization . One example is the controversial Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi who founded the influential Paneuropean Union unification organization and who advocated extensive race mixing with Africans. Critics of globalization have often viewed the EU skeptically. One example of criticisms is the EU being used to force various politically correct policies on countries having some less politically correct ones.

Criticisms have also included a large, expensive, complicated, and not needed bureaucracy; corruption; lobbying by and inefficient subsidiaries to special interest groups (such as the agricultural sector which at one point received 70% of the EU budget); and lack of democracy and transparency. The large foreign aid that wealthier EU countries pay to poorer EU countries has been criticized for reasons such inefficiency, having contributed to financial bubbles, and being used as a tool to enforce politically correct policies on the poorer countries. The single currency has been criticized for as unsuitable for areas still having largely different and separate financial/economic systems and to have contributed to financial/economic crises. A common justification for the EU is in order to prevent wars. However, there are many of examples of civil wars occurring in countries which were far more politically and economically integrated than the EU is. See also the democratic peace theory . Companies have been accused of using the EUs common market for unfair competition by avoiding taxes and regulations which has been argued to cause entire sectors in some countries to disappear or be greatly threatened regarding their future, reduced tax revenues, deteriorating work conditions, and environmental damages.

A particularly controversial aspect has been the principle of "free movement of people" which has contributed to large movements of groups such as gypsies , " asylum seekers ", and criminals within Europe. This applies in particular to those EU countries that are part of the Schengen Area and that thus have abolished passport and any other type of border control at their mutual borders. Criminals can often use the "free movement of people" but still mostly separate law enforcement systems in the different countries to their advantage in various ways. " Asylum seekers " can often easily move to the countries giving the highest benefits if they manage to enter the EU rather than stay in the country closest to their supposed country of origin. If Turkey is given some forms of access without border controls to the EU or even EU membership (as has often been proposed), then the "free movement of people" will include the 80 million inhabitants of Turkey. In addition, Turkey's long border with Asian countries is difficult to guard and easily crossed by people and smugglers (such as immigrant and " refugee " smugglers) wanting to enter illegally. Also movements of groups such as Eastern Europeans to Western Europe have caused controversies for reasons such as competition on jobs and wages.

Some forms of EU criticisms have been criticized as actually being more " politically correct " versions of less politically correct views. Thus, rather than criticizing immigration by non-Europeans and risk being accused of " racism ", it may be safer to criticize the EU and immigration by Europeans. In the UK the decline in popularity of the British National Party has been accompanied by an increase in popularity of the UK Independence Party . Part of this article consists of modified text from Wikipedia , and the article is therefore licensed under GFDL . EUR-Lex - xy0026 - EN - EUR-Lex Text Treaty of Maastricht on European Union The Treaty on European Union (TEU) represents a new stage in European integration since it opens the way to political integration. It creates a European Union consisting of three pillars: the European Communities, Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (JHA). The Treaty introduces the concept of European citizenship, reinforces the powers of the European Parliament and launches economic and monetary union (EMU). Besides, the EEC becomes the European Community (EC).

BIRTH The Treaty on European Union (TEU), signed in Maastricht on 7 February 1992, entered into force on 1 November 1993. This Treaty is the result of external and internal events. At external level, the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the outlook of German reunification led to a commitment to reinforce the Community's international position. At internal level, the Member States wished to supplement the progress achieved by the Single European Act with other reforms. This led to the convening of two Inter-Governmental Conferences, one on EMU and the other on political union. The Hanover European Council of 27 and 28 June 1988 entrusted the task of preparing a report proposing concrete steps towards economic union to a group of experts chaired by Jacques Delors. The Dublin European Council of 28 April 1990, on the basis of a Belgian memorandum on institutional reform and a Franco-German initiative inviting the Member States to consider accelerating the political construction of Europe, decided to examine the need to amend the EC Treaty so as to move towards European integration.

It was the Rome European Council of 14 and 15 December 1990 which finally launched the two Intergovernmental Conferences. This culminated a year later in the Maastricht Summit of 9 and 10 December 1991. OBJECTIVES With the Treaty of Maastricht, the Community clearly went beyond its original economic objective, i.e. creation of a common market, and its political ambitions came to the fore. In this context, the Treaty of Maastricht responds to five key goals: strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the institutions; improve the effectiveness of the institutions; establish economic and monetary union; develop the Community social dimension; establish a common foreign and security policy. STRUCTURE The Treaty has a complicated structure. Its preamble is followed by seven titles. Title I contains provisions shared by the Communities, common foreign policy, and judicial cooperation. Title II contains provisions amending the EEC Treaty, while Titles III and IV amend the ECSC and EAEC Treaties respectively. Title V introduces provisions concerning common foreign and security policy (CFSP). Title VI contains provisions on cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs (JHA). The final provisions are set out in Title VII.

EUROPEAN UNION The Maastricht Treaty creates the European Union, which consists of three pillars: the European Communities, common foreign and security policy and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The first pillar consists of the European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and Euratom and concerns the domains in which the Member States share their sovereignty via the Community institutions. The process known as the Community method applies in this connection, i.e. a proposal by the European Commission, its adoption by the Council and the European Parliament and the monitoring of compliance with Community law by the Court of Justice. The second pillar establishes common foreign and security policy (CFSP), enshrined in Title V of the Treaty on European Union. This replaces the provisions of the Single European Act and allows Member States to take joint action in the field of foreign policy. This pillar involves an intergovernmental decision-making process which largely relies on unanimity. The Commission and Parliament play a modest role and the Court of Justice has no say in this area. The third pillar concerns cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs (JHA), provided for in Title VI of the Treaty on European Union.

The Union is expected to undertake joint action so as to offer European citizens a high level of protection in the area of freedom, security and justice. The decision-making process is also intergovernmental. INSTITUTIONS In the wake of the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty also expands the role of the European Parliament. The scope of the cooperation procedure and the assent procedure has been extended to new areas. Besides, the Treaty creates a new codecision procedure which allows the European Parliament to adopt acts in conjunction with the Council. This procedure entails stronger contacts between the Parliament and the Council in order to reach agreement. Besides, the Treaty involves Parliament in the procedure for confirming the Commission. The role played by the European political parties in European integration is recognised. They contribute to forming a European awareness and to expressing the political will of the Europeans. As regards the Commission, the duration of its term of office has been extended from four to five years with a view to aligning it to with that of the European Parliament. Like the Single Act, this Treaty extends qualified majority voting within the Council to cover most decisions under the codecision procedure and all decisions under the cooperation procedure. To recognise the importance of the regional dimension, the Treaty creates the Committee of the Regions.

Made up of representatives of the regional authorities, this Committee plays an advisory role. POLICIES The Treaty establishes Community policies in six new areas: trans-European networks; culture. ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION The EMU puts the finishing touches to the single market. Economic policy consists of three components. The Member States must ensure coordination of their economic policies, provide for multilateral surveillance of this coordination, and are subject to financial and budgetary discipline. The objective of monetary policy is to create a single currency and to ensure this currency's stability thanks to price stability and respect for the market economy. The Treaty provides for the establishment of a single currency in three successive stages: the first stage, which liberalises the movement of capital, began on 1 January 1990; the second stage began on 1 January 1994 and provides for convergence of the Member States' economic policies; the third stage should begin by the latest on 1 January 1999 with the creation of a single currency and the establishment of a Central European Bank (CEB). Monetary policy is based on the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), consisting of the CEB and the national central banks.

These institutions are independent of the national and Community political authorities. Special rules apply to two Member States. The United Kingdom has not proceeded to the third stage. Denmark has obtained a protocol providing that a referendum shall decide on its participation in the third stage. SOCIAL PROTOCOL Thanks to the social protocol annexed to the Treaty, Community powers are broadened in the social domain. The United Kingdom is not a signatory of this protocol. Its objectives are: promotion of employment; improvement of living and working conditions; adequate social protection; EUROPA - The history of the European Union Europa The Founding Fathers of the EU The following visionary leaders inspired the creation of the European Union we live in today. Without their energy and motivation we would not be living in the climate of peace and stability that we take for granted nowadays. From resistance fighters to lawyers, the Founding Fathers were a diverse group of people who held the same ideals: a peaceful, united and prosperous Europe. Beyond the Founding Fathers described below, many others have worked tirelessly towards, and inspired, the European project. This section on the Founding Fathers is therefore a work in progress.

1945 - 1959 A peaceful Europe – the beginnings of cooperation The European Union is set up with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars between neighbours, which culminated in the Second World War. As of 1950, the European Coal and Steel Community begins to unite European countries economically and politically in order to secure lasting peace. The six founding countries are Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The 1950s are dominated by a cold war between east and west. Protests in Hungary against the Communist regime are put down by Soviet tanks in 1956. In 1957, the Treaty of Rome creates the European Economic Community (EEC), or ‘Common Market’. 1960 - 1969 A period of economic growth The 1960s is a good period for the economy, helped by the fact that EU countries stop charging custom duties when they trade with each other. They also agree joint control over food production, so that everybody now has enough to eat - and soon there is even surplus agricultural produce.

May 1968 becomes famous for student riots in Paris, and many changes in society and behaviour become associated with the so-called ‘68 generation’. 1970 - 1979 A growing Community – the first enlargement Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the European Union on 1 January 1973, raising the number of Member States to nine. The short, yet brutal, Arab-Israeli war of October 1973 results in an energy crisis and economic problems in Europe. The last right-wing dictatorships in Europe come to an end with the overthrow of the Salazar regime in Portugal in 1974 and the death of General Franco of Spain in 1975. The EU regional policy starts to transfer huge sums of money to create jobs and infrastructure in poorer areas. The European Parliament increases its influence in EU affairs and in 1979 all citizens can, for the first time, elect their members directly. The fight against pollution intensifies in the 1970s. The EU adopts laws to protect the environment, introducing the notion of ‘the polluter pays’ for the first time.

1980 - 1989 The changing face of Europe - the fall of the Berlin Wall The Polish trade union, Solidarność, and its leader Lech Walesa, become household names across Europe and the world following the Gdansk shipyard strikes in the summer of 1980. In 1981, Greece becomes the 10th member of the EU, and Spain and Portugal follow five years later. In 1986 the Single European Act is signed. This is a treaty which provides the basis for a vast six-year programme aimed at sorting out the problems with the free flow of trade across EU borders and thus creates the ‘Single Market’. There is major political upheaval when, on 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall is pulled down and the border between East and West Germany is opened for the first time in 28 years. This leads to the reunification of Germany, when both East and West Germany are united in October 1990. 1990 - 1999 A Europe without frontiers With the collapse of communism across central and eastern Europe, Europeans become closer neighbours.

In 1993 the Single Market is completed with the 'four freedoms' of: movement of goods, services, people and money. The 1990s is also the decade of two treaties: the ‘Maastricht’ Treaty on European Union in 1993 and the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999. People are concerned about how to protect the environment and also how Europeans can act together when it comes to security and defence matters. In 1995 the EU gains three more new members: Austria, Finland and Sweden. A small village in Luxembourg gives its name to the ‘Schengen’ agreements that gradually allow people to travel without having their passports checked at the borders. Millions of young people study in other countries with EU support. Communication is made easier as more and more people start using mobile phones and the internet. 2000 – 2009 Further expansion The euro is now the new currency for many Europeans. During the decade more and more countries adopt the euro. 11 September 2001 becomes synonymous with the 'War on Terror' after hijacked airliners are flown into buildings in New York and Washington.

EU countries begin to work much more closely together to fight crime. The political divisions between east and west Europe are finally declared healed when no fewer than 10 new countries join the EU in 2004, followed by Bulgaria and Romania in 2007. A financial crisis hits the global economy in September 2008. The Treaty of Lisbon is ratified by all EU countries before entering into force in 2009. It provides the EU with modern institutions and more efficient working methods. European Union financial definition of European Union European Union financial definition of European Union Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Medical , Legal , Acronyms , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . European Union (EU) An economic association of European countries founded by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 as a common market for six nations. It was known as the European Community until January 1, 1994 and currently comprises 15 European countries. Its goals are a single market for goods and services without any economic barriers, and a common currency with one monetary authority. European Union A supranational economic and political organization consisting of the majority of the countries in Europe.

While it lacks the authority of a federal union, it provides a common market and free trade between members. Importantly, it created and operates the euro , which is one of the most important global currencies . See also: European Central Bank . Fig. 39 EU Budget 2004. European Union (EU) a regional alliance established by the Treaty of Rome in 1958 with the general objective of integrating the economies of member countries. The EU was originally called the ‘European Economic Community’ (EEC) before changing its name to simply the ‘European Community’ ( EC ). In 1993, following ratification of the MAASTRICHT TREATY , the current name was adopted to reflect the wider move towards social and political union as well as economic union. In January 1999 the EU put into place a further major step towards integrating the economies of member countries. Under the ECONOMIC and MONETARY UNION (EMU) programme a new single currency, the EURO , was introduced to replace the individual domestic currencies of EMU participants by the end of 2002. The introduction of EMU has meant the end of the EUROPEAN MONETARY SYSTEM and the European Currency Unit.

(For further details of this landmark development see ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION , EURO , and EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK entries). The deeper integration of member countries implied by EMU has already accentuated a number of underlying difficulties, particularly that of applying ‘one fit’ policies throughout the EMU -zone despite substantial differences in the industrial structures and extent of economic maturity of members (contrast relatively economically ‘advanced’ Germany with that of less-developed Greece). Many economists fear that harmonization will become untenable as more and more countries, most of them possessing weak industrial sectors and thus in need of massive structural funding, join the EU . The EU has a total population of some 450 million and accounts for around 44% of the world production and world exports. There were six founding countries of the EU: (West) Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Nineteen more countries have since joined the EU bringing its current membership up to 25. The UK, Ireland and Denmark joined in 1973, Greece in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986, and Austria, Sweden and Finland in 1995.

In 2004 a further 10 countries joined the EU under an ‘Accession’ arrangement which required them to have undertaken major reforms of their economies to make them market-orientated: Poland, Hungary Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta. The strategic and operational policies of the EU are formulated by member country governments acting through the Council of Ministers (one appointed member per country) and the European Parliament (democratically elected). The European Commission is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administration of the EU and in controlling its general budget finances while various other bodies are responsible for running specific programmes such as the Common Agricultural Policy Agricultural price support and structural operations (the EU's regional and social, programmes) currently account for around four fifths of the total EU Budget. In 2004 the EU Budget totalled some 103 billion Euros. Contributions and receipts for the 15 member countries of the EU are listed in Fig 39.

The budget is financed from four sources – a charge on each country proportional to their share of the EU's Gross National Product ( GNP ); a proportional charge on each countries value added tax ( VAT ) receipts; levies on agricultural imports and customs duties on other imports from non-EU countries. The main economic developments within the EU down to EMU include: the creation of a (‘single’) common market providing for free trade in goods and services and the free movement of labour and capital across national boundaries. (See TRADE INTEGRATION entry for details). Member countries are committed to removing TARIFFS , QUOTAS and other obstacles to trade within the EU and to maintaining the EU's ‘common external tariff against nonmember countries' imports. Import restrictions by the six original members against each other were dismantled and their external tariffs harmonized in stages between 1958 and 1968. The creation of an internal market was give further impetus by the SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT , 1986 which embodied some 400 ‘directives’ providing for the implementation of common technical standards, product specification, descriptions and labelling, road haulage regulations etc.

In addition, the EU has concluded a number of trade preference agreements with non-member countries, including the multilateral LOME AGREEMENT with over 40 less-developed countries, most of them former colonies of EU members, and bilateral pacts with members of the EUROPEAN FREE TRADE ASSOCIATION . See also EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA . a competition policy providing for the prohibition of price-fixing and market-sharing agreements between firms and the abuse of a dominant market position which have the effect of reducing or eliminating intra-EU trade (see COMPETITION POLICY EU ) Common Agricultural Policy providing for the subsidization and protection of the farm sector a REGIONAL POLICY providing financial assistance for the removal of regional imbalances both within and between member countries. the establishment of the EUROPEAN MONETARY SYSTEM to provide a close coordination of member countries' currency exchange rates and settlement of payment imbalances. EU laws generally take precedence over the national laws of member countries but in some areas the principle of subsidiarity can be invoked which involves the devolvement of responsibility for decisionmaking from the European Commission to national administrations. See, for example, COMPETITION POLICY (EU).

In 2000 the Treaty of Nice introduced several changes to the administration of the EU in order to facilitate the enlargement of the EU , and enable the integration of members' economies to proceed more rapidly. Member countries vote allocations were re-weigh ted in favour of the larger states; qualified majority voting replaced the national veto on a range of issues; limits were introduced on the size of the European Commission (big nations lose their second Commissioner in 2005); groups of eight or more countries can push ahead with integration in agreed policy areas. However, tax and social security matters will remain subject to unanimity in voting. European Union (EU) A regional alliance established by the Treaty of Rome in 1958 with the general objective of integrating the economies of member countries. The EU was originally called the ‘European Economic Community’ (EEC) before changing its name to simply the ‘European Community’ (EC). In 1993, following ratification of the MAASTRICHT TREATY , the current name was adopted to reflect the wider move towards social and political union as well as economic union. The EU has a collective population of some 465 million people European Union budget.

(a) Breakdown, 1980 and 2003/4. (b) Member country payments and receipts 2003/4. European Union and accounts for over 40% of world production and world exports. There were six founding countries of the EU: (West) Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, which had previously cooperated (with the exception of the Netherlands) in the EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY . Nine more countries then joined the EU, bringing its membership up to 15. The UK, Ireland and Denmark joined in 1973, Greece in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986, and Austria, Sweden and Finland in 1995. In April 2004 a further 10 countries joined the EU under a previously negotiated Accession’ arrangement that required these countries to undertake reforms of their institutions and policies to align them with EU practice.

Eight of the new members are formerly centrally planned ‘socialist’ countries, which for them has meant a major transformation of their economies to meet the ‘market’ conditions prevailing in the EU: Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania. The other two new members are Cyprus and Malta. Compared to the long-established members of the EU, the new entrants are mostly relatively economically undeveloped, with low levels of per capita income (see below), and this had led to concerns about how quickly they could meet the convergence criteria required for entry to the EURO-zone and their likely drain on the EU budget, with the richer members having to make further contributions to make ends meet. Looking to the longer term, another 10 countries are lined up to join the EU from 2010 onwards.

Per capita GDP A private letter written by Margaret Thatcher reveals she would have campaigned for Brexit, claims Eurosceptic MP - Telegraph Margaret Thatcher A private letter written by Margaret Thatcher reveals she would have campaigned for Brexit, claims Eurosceptic MP Sir Bill Cash MP has released the private correspondence he had with the former Prime Minister, in which she describes the EU project as "contrary to British interests and damaging to our Parliamentary democracy" Prime Minister David Cameron and ex-Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pictured in 2007 Photo: PA By Laura Hughes , Political Correspondent 8:02AM GMT 11 Feb 2016 A private letter written by Margaret Thatcher reveals she would have campaigned to leave the European Union, according to the Eurosceptic Conservative MP who has released the note. Sir Bill Cash MP has revealed the private correspondence he had with the former Prime Minister, in which she describes the EU project as "contrary to British interests and damaging to our Parliamentary democracy". He says it is "inconceivable" Lady Thatcher would have supported David Cameron's current deal and that she gave him the letter to make public if there was ever any doubt over her views on the European Union.

Sir Bill Cash MP Photo: PA The letter to Sir Bill was composed shortly after the European Union was established under its current name in 1993 following the Maastricht Treaty . Lady Thatcher had stepped down and was no longer an MP in 1993, so was unable to vote. However, in her note the former Prime Minister writes: "I understand it is being suggested in some quarters that I would have agreed to the Maastricht Treaty. May I make it clear that I would NOT have done so." The signing of the Maastricht Treaty for the foundation of the euro on February 7, 1992 Photo: AFP/Getty Images On releasing the letter, Sir Bill said: "When she handed this note to me personally, she told me I was to produce it any time when there was a serious question about whether or not she would have signed up to the European project." He told the Daily Mail: "It is inconceivable she would not have wanted to leave the EU. If you are going to veto Maastricht, you are saying you are not going to go ahead with the European project.

"She gave the letter to me for a specific purpose and she had trust in me that I would do what she wanted. I am now doing that. There has never been the same degree of necessity to (release it) as there is now." Sir Charles Powell with Baroness Thatcher. Photo: PA Writing in the Sunday Times, Lord Powell, Lady Thatcher's chief policy adviser in the mid-1980s, claimed she would have supported Mr Cameron's renegotiations and "gone along with what is on offer." He wrote: "Margaret Thatcher's heart was never in our membership of the EU. But I am convinced her head would continue to favour staying in on the conditions now on offer." But Sir Bill fiercely refuted this claim, he said: "I was very disturbed and deeply concerned that somebody who knew her so intimately should believe that she would have gone along with what is a completely undemocratic project.

It is just inconceivable." EU - Orthoptistes de la Communauté Européenne EU History of the EU The EU developes from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by the founding members Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany in 1951 and 1958. In the intervening years the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. "After World War II, moves towards European integration were seen by many as an escape from the extreme forms of nationalism that had devastated the continent. The 1948 Hague Congress was a pivotal moment in European federal history, as it led to the creation of the European Movement International and also of the College of Europe, a place where Europe's future leaders would live and study together.

1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, which was declared to be "a first step in the federation of Europe", starting with the aim of eliminating the possibility of further wars between its member states by means of pooling the national heavy industries. The originators and supporters of the Community include Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. The continental territories of the member states of the European Union (European Communities pre-1993), coloured in order of accession. In 1957, the six countries signed the Treaty of Rome, which extended the earlier co-operation within the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and created the European Economic Community (EEC), establishing a customs union. They also signed another treaty on the same day creating the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958. The EEC and Euratom were created separately from ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The executives of the new communities were called Commissions, as opposed to the "High Authority".

The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein (Hallstein Commission) and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand (Armand Commission) and then Étienne Hirsch. Euratom would integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union between members. Throughout the 1960s, tensions began to show with France seeking to limit supranational power. However, in 1965 an agreement was reached and hence in 1967 the Merger Treaty was signed in Brussels. It came into force on 1 July 1967 and created a single set of institutions for the three communities, which were collectively referred to as the European Communities (EC), although commonly just as the European Community. Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission (Rey Commission). In 1989 the Iron Curtain fell, enabling the union to expand further. (Berlin Wall) In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark (including Greenland, which later left the Community in 1985), Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum.

In 1979, the first direct, democratic elections to the European Parliament were held. Greece joined in 1981; Portugal and Spain in 1986. In 1985, the Schengen Agreement led the way toward the creation of open borders without passport controls between most member states and some non-member states. In 1986, the European flag began to be used by the Community and the Single European Act was signed. The euro was introduced in 2002, replacing most national currencies. In 1990, after the fall of the Eastern Bloc, the former East Germany became part of the Community as part of a reunited Germany. With further enlargement planned for former Communist states, Cyprus, and Malta, the Copenhagen criteria for candidate members to join the EU were agreed upon in June 1993. The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty—whose main architects were Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand—came into force on 1 November 1993. In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU.

In 2002, euro banknotes and coins replaced national currencies in 12 of the member states. Since then, the eurozone has increased to encompass 18 countries. In 2004, the EU saw its biggest enlargement to date when Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined the Union. Europe Day in Warsaw, Poland, a celebration of the European integration and peace between the European nations, awarded with the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. On 1 January 2007, Romania and Bulgaria became EU members. In the same year Slovenia adopted the euro, followed in 2008 by Cyprus and Malta, by Slovakia in 2009, by Estonia in 2011 and by Latvia in 2014. In June 2009, the 2009 Parliament elections were held leading to a renewal of Barroso's Commission Presidency, and in July 2009 Iceland formally applied for EU membership. On 1 December 2009, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force and reformed many aspects of the EU.

In particular, it changed the legal structure of the European Union, merging the EU three pillars system into a single legal entity provisioned with a legal personality, created a permanent President of the European Council, the first of which was Herman Van Rompuy, and strengthened the High Representative, Catherine Ashton. The European Union received the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for having "contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy, and human rights in Europe."On 1 July 2013, Croatia became the 28th EU member." [cited

Question: Which 1993 treaty established the European Union under its current name?
Answer: Maastricht